There is no doubt that vintage film cameras are cool and there is something special about shooting film in the digital age. This workshop is for those who want to connect with a mechanical camera to express photography the way it was in its heyday of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s. David Brommer has never abandoned film photography and has a massive collection of “vintage users” he maintains.
Dates: June 2nd, 2024 9 AM-5 PM
Genre: Analog Street & Urban Photography
Group Size: Max 5 participants
Skill Levels: All
Includes: 3 rolls of film, camera rental, film processing and scanning, breakfast and post workshop group zoom.
Cost: $350.00
In this special one day workshop he will open up his cabinet of cameras and let you choose which one to shoot with during the day. Fancy a Hasselblad medium format? We have a red one with three lenses. A Nikon? Take your pick of SLR or Rangefinder. Want to experiment with a half frame 35mm? The Olympus Pen F is your camera. For those who want precision, grab the Contax with Zeiss lenses, or go instant with Fujifilm Instax. You may also bring a manual camera you inherited or were gifted and want to learn to use. You’ll have three rolls of film to work with during the workshop.
The focus of your day will be street and urban photography. This includes people and architecture with an emphasis on compositional elements. Film photography can be fun and surprising and each film emulsion has a look all their own. This workshop will give you a firm grasp of the basics of mechanical film cameras, exposure and composition.
Nikon FE 50mm Nikkor 1.4 Ais Fujifilm Superia 400 Converted to B&W (note the grain)
The day begins with coffee and bagels while we get a lesson on how to load film into your camera. After a quick rooftop photo op and exposure discussion, we take to the streets and head to little Island on the Hudson. Crossing the West Village we stop at the “secret garden” and continue east to the photo paradise of Washington Square Park and grab lunch. We then visit the Photo Lab 5R for a tour and workflow discussion. From there our walk continues to the Alamo and the East Village ending in Tompkins Square park. Cameras will be collected and film dropped off at our lab. Just like in the hinter years, you will get to look at your work about a week later after they have been developed, scanned and emailed to you. A few weeks later we will meet on zoom for an image review.
Nikon FE 50 mm 1.4 Fujifilm Superia 400Nikon FE 50 mm 1.4 Fujifilm Superia 400Nikon SP 35mm 1.8 Kodak Tri-X with Shitty Iphone Scan
Each student receives 3 rolls of film (B&W & Color Options) that includes processing and negative scanning. (Prints available at additional cost). Breakfast included, lunch on your own. Workshop is rain or shine. 2 weeks after the workshop a group zoom will be conducted with student submitted work to discuss and review. Class is limited to 5 students.
Cost: $350 Includes three rolls of film, camera rental, film processing and scanning, breakfast and post workshop group zoom.
March 25th we lost a lion of the photographic world, beloved by all who worked with him during his illustrious career, and a great sharer of vast knowledge, Photographer Mel DiGiacomo has shot his last photo.
If you are unfamiliar with Mel, A great place to start is watch the 3 minute highlight reel that the talented Kelly Mena directed and edited for B&H Photo 8 years ago.
I met Mel while I was producing educational content for B&H Photo Event Space and Depth of Field conferences, platforming him many times. His wisdom was infectious, his sense of humor legendary, but it was his seemingly effortless ability to capture photographs that really amazed me. Mel was an inspiration to work with, and I reflect fondly when he came to teach on the many stages we invited him to. I am deeply grateful that we recorded his wisdom so that all may learn and enjoy the many lessons of the great Melchior DiGiacomo.
Mel’s B&H Video LibraryClick on the Image to link to the video on YouTube
The Feral Photographer
This one hour video drips with wisdom about living the life of a photographer. Mel discusses visual literacy, career advice and how to be invisible when shooting.
Wedding Photography Tips: Mel DiGiacomo on Photojournalistic Approach
An absolute must watch short video for any and all wedding/event photographers.
So You Want to be a Sports Photographer?
Priceless advice and techniques for being a sports photographer.
Wedding Event of the Season: Mel DiGiacomo Session
Before there was B&H Depth of Field, there was the Wedding Event of the Season and we invited Mel to speak to 1000 lucky wedding photographers.
Everyone has Mel stories and I’ll share one that stands out for me. When he’d drive in from NJ to NYC to conduct presentations or review sessions, he’d drive his big Cadillac across the river. I’d have to meet him on the street and get him parked which could be a few blocks away. As we walked to the B&H Super Store he kept his Canon EOS 5D MK III and 24mm in his hands casually snapping away at what ever drew his eye. Arms extended, shooting from hip and shoulder Mel just banged out gorgeous B&W street shots effortlessly, sometimes stopping to talk to a stranger or engage with a coffee counter person. The only thing that excedded Mel’s lust for life and image making that was his wit and sense of humor. Mel was loved by all those who came in his circle.
Tom Tedesco, Mel, Neil Clipper and David Brommer at the Wedding Event of the Season 2017 Photo by Brandon Remler
Mel was important member of the pro tennis world. He covered the US Open for decades and was the only non tennis player admitted into the hall of fame! I asked fellow a photographer who I knew worked with Mel, Chris Nicholson (one of the four founders of National Parks at Nigh) about some Mel stories to share.
“My very first experience with Mel was from a distance. Part of my first job with Tennis magazine was managing the photo library. Part of that responsibility was sorting and filing a gigantic batch of Mel’s photos that he let us keep on hand. I learned a lot about how to shoot sports in a different way by seeing thousands of his images as a young adult. That definitely influenced my growth as a sports photographer.
The first time I ever met Mel in person was at a tennis tournament in New Jersey. I was in awe shooting next to him and a few other photographers I respected, what we might call the old guard of tennis photographers, the people who were there when tennis started getting big in the late 60s, and who documented the sport as it grew through the boom in the 70s and into the 80s and 90s. Most sports photographers, including tennis photographers, sit at the sideline with a long lens and shoot repeatedly, looking for the best few photos they can manage to capture out of a few hundred frames by the end of the match. Mel, on the other hand, sat at the side of the court with a rangefinder, picking it up only every few minutes or so to snap one artistic wide-angle black-and-white. It was a good lesson, that there is more than one way to work, particularly if you want to make art out of a common commercial genre. He was shooting with a rangefinder one-handed, mind you.” -Chris Nicolson
When news spread about Mel’s passing there was a great outpouring of love from the local NY Metro area photographers on social media. Mel lives on in his images, memories and those golden Youtube videos above.
God Speed Mel and thank you for being the unabashed and talented you.
Lastly, I’d like to share my favorite Mel joke,
“What’s the difference between a Pizza Pie and a Professional Photographer?”
The Pizza Pie can feed a family of four”
Mel DiGiacomo 1938-2024
Additional Reading:
This is taken from the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame when Mel was inducted in 2015.
MEL DIGIACOMO
Mel DiGiacomo has been a staple at the US Open for the last 44 years.
Whether it is down on the court, in the stands or directly alongside the players, DiGiacomo is there with his camera in hand. In addition to the US Open, DiGiacomo has traveled the world to photograph a variety of sports and events.
The North Bergen, N.J. native currently lives in Harrington Park, N.J.. where he has proudly resided for the last 40 years. “It’s remarkable that Harrington Park, a 4,800 person town, has two residents in the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame,” DiGiacomo said. “Neil Amdur, the former Sports Editor for The New York Times and me.”
DiGiacomo began his career at CBS as an usher and worked his way up to Production Supervisor for “60 Minutes.” After working for CBS for ten years, he decided to become a photographer when he was 27 years old. “My friend photographed my semi-pro football practices on the weekends and I always made fun of his photos,” DiGiacomo said. One day, he joked if you’re so good, get a camera,’ so I bought one, put it together and told him that’s what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.”
A year later, DiGiacomo moved to England to photograph rugby, then moved back to the United States and photographed hockey at Madison Square Garden. “A publisher hired me to make a hockey book,” DiGiacomo said. *Gene Scott, Founder of Tennis Week magazine, saw it and wanted the same thing, only for tennis.” DiGiacomo didn’t play tennis and, at the time, had never seen a tennis match. As someone who was familiar photographing football, DiGiacomo began shooting tennis matches with a football lens. The different lens gave him a now perspective on the game, which made him take photos in a way no one else did.
“In those days, you could get close to the players,” DiGiacomo said. “I used to shoot everything in black and white and in a very photo-journalist style, which was another thing people hadn’t been doing.”
DiGiacomo’s photos have been featured in several publications including Sports Illustrated, Tennis Magazine, Newsweek and Lite Magazine. His new style of shooting and vivacious personality greatly influenced his fellow photographers. “He’s a wonderful person to be around because he is so friendly.” Bob Litwin, a close friend of DiGiacomo’s said. “Even with really famous people he becomes a friend, not just a photographer.”
Throughout DiGiacomo’s time at the Virginia Slims Circuit and US Open, he interacted with several professional players, writers and fans including Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Martina Navratilova and Mary Carillo. Outside of sports, DiGiacomo photographed a number of weddings, specifically tennis weddings. The first wedding he shot was Jeanie Brinkman’s, the Director of the Virginia Slims Circuit.
“I didn’t think too much of it,” DiGiacomo said. “Then, 20 years later, I was asked to shoot Jimmy Connors’ Manager Karen Scott’$ wedding, and more stemmed from there.” Pam Shriver, a former professional player, Richard Evans, a longtime tennis writer and Gone Scott each requested DiGiacomo for their big day.
DiGiacomo values all of his work, but is most proud of the impact he has made in Antigua photographing the tennis tournament at Curtain Bluff. In his first year shooting there, he noticed the ball boys and girls had bare feet, so he followed them home to their village, Old Road. “I ended up doing a book that had nothing to do with tennis, but also had everything to do with tennis,” DiGiacomo said. *I was down there for tennis, but I went into the village to document their stories.”
The proceeds from DiGiacomo’s photographs go into the “Old Road Fund” to benefit the children in the village. When the fund earns enough money. it goes toward helping the children attend college. DiGincomo has always supported tennis and the people he has met through tennis. He raised both of his children to become tennis players because he values being part of the tennis community and enjoys that tennis is a sport his kids, who are now adults, can play for years to come.
“I owe a lot to tennis because it changed my life,” DiGiacomo said. “It has given me so much, my family too.”
On this next assignment (or shall we say ‘visual challenge’) we are going to explore how very different subjects can dynamically interact with each other, whether they are thrown in a situation or they just happen to exist in two diametrically opposite circumstances.
The goal of the exercise is to push our vision to the brim of conflict, break free from pre conceived notions and find the harmony in opposition.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MAY 5 TH AT MIDNIGHT. LIVE REVIEW MONDAY MAY 6TH AT 6:00 PM
Now point your cameras at it. Here are the rules:
You can submit one image in the theme “OPPOSITES ATTRACT”. This image is an assignment, you are highly encouraged to prioritize creating this photograph in the coming weeks. Since there is so much lead time, only newly created work will be reviewed. You may NOT draw from your archive, by embracing this home work you will gain the full benefit of this assignment,seek out or make the image.
Upload ONE 2-5 mb jpeg. Images must follow this naming convention: firstname_lastname.jpg ie: david_brommer.jpg and not have a water mark. Images will only be used for a one time recorded critique. By following the naming convention you will receive credit for your work in the form of a shout out during the review.
Take this assignment seriously. Street Photographers can hit the pavement and find the opposites attracting or you can set up the photograph with family, friends and other willing accomplices. Start taking notes, write down ideas that come to your mind while thinking about what Opposites Attract means to you. Plan where you will make these photographs or how you will construct the photograph.
One image will be chosen as the best in class and a $50 donation to IPC will be made in the photographers name. Your hard work will do good by supporting an excellent organization.
The International Photographic Council (IPC) is dedicated to increasing worldwide recognition of photography as a universal means of communication. Through a variety of efforts such as the awarding of scholarships to students and the recognition of professional photographers annually at the UN, IPC continues to promote photography in the spirit of its motto: “Peace Through Photography, the Universal Language.”
In keeping with a theme of Positivity through Photography we present our First Assignment: Photograph Virtue.
The idea of this assignment is to foster an appreciation for what is positive in our photo life. The Cambridge Dictionary states, Virtue (Noun) “A good moral quality in a person, or the general quality of being morally good”. Another suggestion by Douglas Holleley in his book, “Your Assignment: Photography” is to consider the “Seven Deadly Sins” polar opposites being; chastity, restraint, generosity, diligence, patience (of course we have all heard, “Patience is a virtue), kindness, and humility. Please only use the above examples of Virtue as a starting point (Holleley stated the opposites are debatable). You are as always free to interpret virtue as you see virtue.
Submission Deadline: March 13th at midnight. Live Review Thursday March 14th at 6:00 pm
Now point your cameras at it. Here are the rules:
You can submit one image in the theme “virtue”. This image is an assignment, you are highly encouraged to prioritize creating this photograph over this week. You may draw from your archive, because even that is an exercise, however to gain the full benefit of this assignment, you should seek out the image. Upload ONE 2-5 mb jpeg. Images must follow this naming convention: firstname_lastname.jpg ie: david_brommer.jpg and not have a water mark. Images will only be used for a one time recorded critique. By following the naming convention you will receive credit for your work in the form of a shout out during the review.
We will review as many images as we can in one hour from David’s selection on submitted work. Class Zoom is limited to 100 participants at one time. The review will be recorded and presented on Youtube at a later date. Any questions, feel free to email david.
A natural inclination of photographers, when seeing an interesting subject or scene, is to take one shot and move on. In most cases there was a good photograph in there, but by casually investing in only one shot, the full potential is missed. When you find something interesting you stand a better chance of “scoring a banger”, (meaning making a great image), simply by taking a few more shots and zeroing in on what you saw in the first place. Even if the first shot ends up being the best, at least you got a few to choose from.
A country classic: a pie straight out of the oven cooling off on a pastoral window sill.
What at first sight would seem an easy-peasy composition, needs constant compositional adjustment. Below are the shots in sequence, shown raw out of an iPhone 13 Summer 2023.
I love the shot, but the red car just kills it for me. Way too intrusive, we need to crop it out.
I try to compose the car out, but then a garbage can enters the scene. No one ever said photography was easy. Keep working.
Car is out, but that garbage can is just annoyingly a tad bit in the view middle left.
How about we just fix it in post? Quickly cloned out now but… I feel dirty solving the problem in post rather than in view finder in the moment. Do you feel dirty using cloning tools and generative fill? Tell the truth now.
This the final image. I was bouncing around the kitchen to make sure the background was not distracting and retained a sense of place. I miss the fields, but at least have a slice of them. Now how about a slice of that pie?
“You are responsible for every centimeter of your view finder”
There are a few lessons here, but two stand out. First: watch out for the background. Second, and really equally important as the previous: keep working the scene & subject. Put more effort into making the image and you will be rewarded with better photographs.
This is my final edit on the image. I decided to stay in my style of dominant black and white and ran the file through the raw convertor in photoshop.
Fujifilm XPro2, 35 mm 1.4 lens, Cub Leather Strap, John Varvatos T-Shirt.
I just took delivery of the Fujifilm XPro2 and it will surely be replacing my beloved XPro1 as my primary camera. I’m quite thrilled, and since I’m old school, I like to hang onto photo gear and not get caught up in the great gear race of the latest. I mean, great photographers have been taking great photographs for over a 170 years now, how bourgeois to think that only the latest camera will make you shoot better!
NYC High Line Rain. 18mm f 2.0 processed in Snapseed on iPhone.
On a rainy and cold Christmas Eve morning in NYC I took a stroll on the High Line with one of my favorite lenses, the 18mm f2.0. Before I left the warmth of my apartment, I did what I always recommend, take the manual along with cup of hot joe in one hand, and the camera in the other hand. Run page per page through the manual. There was a host of new features and a slight update on the menu system. I downloaded the Fujifilm Remote App and installed on my phone and tablet. The weather was totally miserable, and the normally very busy Highline empty. In a word, Perfect.
Close up wide open on the Highline.
First thoughts are hallelujah I finally have a camera with a dependable wifi so I can use my iPhone and post the hyper quality image I get from a “real” camera as opposed to the super ease of iPhoneagraphy (which I love but makes me feel cheap and dirty). I was never able to have any success with Sony’s Memory App but Fujifilm delivers a pretty intuitive and easy app for controlling the camera and managing files transmitted to mobile devices. Note that when you transfer a file via wife to a mobile device, it sends a 3 mp file. On your cards are the big files. This blog post is comprised of only images downloaded to my phone, then airdropped to my MacBook for creating the blog post.
Evidently New Yorkers are not ready to have Donald Trump as their next president. Wide open 18mm f2.0 and processed in Snapseed.
Down and Dirty on The Xpro2 from an Xpro1 User
if you are here just for the pix, you might want to scroll past this part.
I don’t want to cover what other camera bloggers have written, this camera has been out for a few months and admittedly, I’m late to the game. I’ll add that yes, the focus joystick is the absolute bomb. We all love to play with shallow depth of field, and this is an effortless way ensure that the focus point is exactly where you want it.
I noticed other things such as the now built in diopter and not the annoying Nikon style rubber eye cup. It’s hard to believe the XPro1 didn’t have a built in diopter now that I think about it. That’s a throwback to old school that I could live with out and a welcome feature on Xpro2.
I’m not sure how this is going to help, but when in OVF if you push the OVF/EVF arm towards the lens, a little magnified EVF window pops up in the lower right hand side of the viewfinder. I hit it by accident and had a devil of time figuring out how to remove the little pop up window (the lever now goes in both direcitons). I look forward to figuring out how to leverage that feature.
If you want your Xpro2 to be all it was born to be (LOTR reference) make sure you go into power setting and switch on “Performance Mode”. Thanks Big B Brandon for that tip. The factory default is a middle setting. Performance mode helps focusing by engaging phase detection. I have learned to live with the fact that the XPro platform is a battery hog and just roll with extra batteries. Seems that the XPro2 is the pig that the XPro1 was. Well what ever we are used to that, if you have a problem keeping batteries charged and on deck, then I suggest you go look at Leica M camera.
The Exposure Compensation Dial has more tension than the XPro1 did, so a casual brush up agains your gut doesn’t result in a +2 exposure mistake you notice later. My first thought was a locking button on the dial would be great, but the tension is just right and a lock is not necessary. Somebody at Fuji was listening.
More Buttons and dials! Yup, pretty much you gain joystick, dials and buttons to customize any which way. The dials push in, turn and simply add tons of customization. I’m fortunate have video game training so my fingers can dance across the camera and do exactly what I want. Well.. almost what I want. I’d love to be able to assign the Fn button to activate the wife transfer instead of going through the menu.
The Grip (which I feel is essential if your hands are larger than Trumps) now has a hole to be able to change the battery (yea we do that a lot) and not have to go through the rigamarole of removing the grip as with the XPro1. The grip also has a machined arca-style QR built into it. #lovethat. Memory card slots (yup, now two of them) are accessed in the side of the camera as opposed to next to the battery. Two slots may entice me to shoot raw when I shoot Jpeg. Pretty cool update and modernization.
The next four years are going to be great for art, oppression has that effect. Glad I had the 18mm, to get this shot I was pressed agains the opposite wall. Wide Saves Lives.
I’m excited the focus system is now really snappy and accurate. I appreciate that, since I like to shoot wide open and have limited depth of field. I need to nail that focus! And the XPro2 delivers.
I did an unboxing video. It’s funny because Elvira (my dear mother in law) helps out. Check it and please, subscribe to my youtube channel)
Happy Holidays and let’s toast to no matter what camera you have, make some most excellent photographs!
The first day of the New Year is celebrated by New Yorkers at Coney Island in the form of a brisk dip in the Atlantic Ocean. This has turned into an event which is organized by the Polar Bear club of Coney Island, an organization founded in 1903. This year the event drew close to 4000 viewers and 2500 swimmers in an extremely festive environment filled with characters, personalities and lots of photographers. I was actually quite surprised at how many shooters turned out, the day was a who’s who of NY photographers that showed up; from the venerable Harvey Stein, the Daily News veteran Todd Maisel, iPhone extraordinaire Ben Lowy, man about town Louis Mendez, Brooklyn’s Kevin Downs and a motley assortment of many local photographers. I got the idea to shoot the Polar Bears a few days prior (looking for something cool to do New Year’s Day) and I texted my friend and fellow photographer Brandon Remler to see if he was game for it, and found out he had already plans to go, so I hitched a ride with him (creative minds think alike aye?). The board walk was crawling with photographers when we arrived at 11:30 am.
The seminal NY Street Photographer Louis Mendez covering the event.
Covering this event to make photographs is exciting, fun and actually fairly difficult. Here is my take: first off, set a parameter. I wanted to capture portraits that resonate with the oddity of the moment, the anticipation of the action, and the shivering resulting from it. Coney Island is an old place (my Grand Mother and Grand Father met there in the late 1920’s) and has distinctive landmarks that beg to be integrated into the final image.
Characters abound. This is a husband wife Polar Bear team. The wife parked the invisible jet behind the wonder wheel (where else?).
The first part of the day is the action on the Coney Island Boardwalk. The music was provided by a DJ and the result was a party filled with electric energy of the new year. I slapped on the 35 mm f1.4 for this and opened up between f 4.0 and f1.4 depending on the “width” of the photo. The shot below needed a little more depth of field because I wanted to catch the stuffed polar bear and the lady, and shooting at 1.4 would have given me focus on just one of those elements. I stopped down to f4.0 to capture both.
A very typical character you can find on the board walk of Coney Island. I love the tattered leather and the macbook.
Elements that give a sense of place like the roller coaster are important to keep in the frame. I didn’t expect the tongue, but fired away when she stuck it out.
I love to shoot wide open and blur the background, but essential to this shoot was Coney Islands uniqueness so I was trying to get the parachute jump or the roller coasters in the background. The 35 mm f1.4 destroys backgrounds into a soft bokeh-ness so if I wanted that background to be demonstrative, I would have to really think about how far I was from the subject and carefully position myself to include those elements in the frame.
We’re going to need a bigger camera.
The action is carnival like, and people dressed up and cavorted for the many cameras. It was easy to make a portrait, all you had to do was get their attention and ask for the photo. I found you could also direct them a fair bit and roll out with some nice work. I would wait till the subjects were not being harrangqued by any other photographers so I could get their attention. You can see in their eyes if they are working with you, or the photographer next to them. The lesson here is wait your turn and make the photo yours.
The first wave of Polar Bears head to the cold surf.
The dip in the ocean occurs at 1 pm, so around 12:30 we made our way down to the beach and joined a crush of photographers. The Polar Bear Club makes a channel about 75 feet wide for the swimmers to run down the beach and hit the water. It gets filled up fast, so stake out your spot early. My plan was to shoot wide (Zeiss 12mm), and get in as close to the swimmers as possible. I set the camera for manual focus at f22 and just used zone focus to capture the run. I also put the camera into hi-speed drive mode and shot at 6 frames per second. Editing later on you can find just the right shot and a lot of ones that clutter up your hard drive.
This is my favorite shot of the day. I love the composition, but I did have to crop heavily, there was a Nikon 70-200 2.8 with lens hood sticking into the frame from the left side.
The police boat on the horizon is an interesting element to include.
I did get tired of the police boat in the background, but the back lit splashes never gets old. One problem was the sun was just above the frame and wreaked havoc with the exposure. I was at +2 Exposure Comp to make this one.
After the swimmers took their dip they returned to the shore and an army of photographers converged on them. They showed great attitude and fortitude and posed for us. But again, you have to be proactive, smile at them and ask for the shot. Subjects looking into your lens will connect far better than subjects looking over you shoulder.
He couldn’t keep his cigar dry, but that didn’t stop him from smoking it.
This girl was skinny, so the cold was electric but look at that smile. A true NY’er and we don’t need the Giants hat to prove it.
This couple had just gotten engaged and were celebrating by taking the dip. I think everyone had a story, but with LBGT rights being the #1 story of 2013 I had a special warm place in my heart for these lovers. The woman on the right is proudly displaying her engagement ring. Let love rule!
How do you celebrate an engagement? In 32 degrees water thats how!
So what does a Coney Island Polar Bear get aside from a jolt of excitement? They get an official certificate stating, “I Did It”! Aside from crazy NY locals, this event also attracts thrill seekers from across the country.
This Polar Bear is loud and proud of her accomplishment.
This family came all the way from Sunny San Diego for the celebration and dip. The family that freezes together stays together. They could have done this in their home town, but it wouldn’t have been the same.:-)
This work was all shot with the Fujifilm Xpro1 and my trio of favorite lenses, the Zeiss 12mm f2.8, 18mm f2.0 and 35mm f1.4. I was aperture priority and on the beach was always at +1 1/3 exposure compensation. I shot with B&W Yellow filter to bring out a little more contrast in the sky. The entire shoot was processed on my iPad using Snapseed. For those of you who find the FujiFilm Xpro exciting, please visit this blog that collects all artistic articles about the camera. I also brought along my Fujifilm Instax Neo-Classic Instax camera. I gave away about 15 pictures throughout the day. Like I have written before, this camera just emanates good photo karma and it makes subjects happy when you hand them an instant photo as a take-away.
I saw Xpans, Graphlex, Hassy, and even a pinhole camera to capture the day with.
I am definitely going again next year, and to make better images I want to try mounting the camera on a pole and shooting remote to get a higher angle. I’ve noticed the press guys had fishing waders on and were in the shallow water making shots. I think this is needed, as I found it very hard to make images without lenses and other non “polar bears” in the image.
…and the last image… the lone photographer capturing the surf of a new year. Complete with trench coat and black fedora.
Regards to the brave Polar Bears of Coney Island and see you next year.
Suspect Photography 